The Petroleum Authority of Uganda has conducted an emergency response drill of different stakeholders to test the country’s readiness to respond to oil and gas emergencies.
The exercise which was conducted at Kabalega international airport on Thursday in Hoima was aimed at testing the readiness and coordination of stakeholders in handling emergency incidents during oil and gas operations.
The drill simulated a fire outbreak at a base camp, resulting in multiple injuries. The Uganda Police Force and the Ministry of Health led the firefighting and medical response efforts, respectively.
Joel Tumwebaze the manager health and safety at Petroleum Authority of Uganda explained that the training has been organized to test the capacity and response mechanism, coordination among government ministries and departments.
Tumwebaze said the sector is progressing and there is a need to prepare for such scenarios associated with oil and gas.
“We have been undertaking an emergency preparedness and response exercise. Basically it has been to test the capacity, the response mechanisms, the coordination among the government, ministries, departments, agencies that are relevant in emergency preparedness, including the district local governments,” Tumwebaze said.
“We had a fire scenario at one of the camps which was simulated and we had the fire brigade coming in from Uganda police to extinguish the fire. Also, the Ministry of Health is coming to provide the required medical services. We have picked up a couple of learning lessons which will be used to improve and enhance emergency preparedness in the oil and gas sector specifically and in the country at large,” he added.
Tumwebaze said that the sector is progressing towards fast oil and the country needs to prepare for such scenarios because of the inherent risks associated with the oil and gas operations.
And it is through such exercises that they can get to know the key areas of improvement they need to undertake so that they can improve that capacity in the country.
“Some of the key lessons, of course, it is the safety of the emergency responders is key we observed some of the challenges they were facing to do with their personal protective equipment, to do with how they were coming in on site, basically traffic management, how were they coming on site without disrupting or without causing incidents to the communities and other stakeholders,” said Tumwebaze.
Brig Fred Rugadya the head of the National Emergency Coordination and Operations Center at the office of the Prime Minister said that the UPDF is ready to handle any emergency in the oil and gas sector.
He said that the Uganda Rapid Deployment Capability (URDC) which is a unit of the Uganda People’s Defense Forces (UPDF) has all the capacity to respond to every emergency in the country within a short time and is well-equipped.
“I’m happy to inform you that we are at around 70% being headed by Uganda Rapid Deployment Capability, a unit Under UPDF. We have the capacity to respond to all emergencies including the oil and gas sector,” Rugadya said.
He said that this is part of the safety preparations for the commercial production of oil which is expected to start soon.
“The oil and gas sector is one of the most dangerous investors to be extra careful
A simulated fire outbreak at a base camp resulting in multiple injuries enabled the Uganda Police Force (UPF) and the Ministry of Health (MoH) to lead firefighting and medical response efforts.
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